Football lines that make you go hmmm...

The franchise is cloaked in success and championships, has a worldwide fan base and plays its games inside a billion dollar spaceship. But, week after week, the Cowboys fail to meet expectations.

Dallas opened the year with a bang and grabbed everyone’s attention with a big win over the New York Giants. Since that Week 1 win, in which Tony Romo threw for 307 yards and three TDs, the Cowboys offense has been the worst in the entire NFL.

Take away that 24-17 win and Dallas has averaged only 13.6 points over its previous three games and boasts more turnovers than touchdowns on the season. The rushing attack is nonexistent, the receivers can’t catch a ball – even if it bounces off their face - and the offensive line has more flags flying than the United Nations.

But, as mentioned above, this team is very two-faced. Hell, it should be a Batman villain.

Dallas has had a week off to tinker with the offense, which has ranked among the upper half of the league over the past few seasons. If head coach Jason Garrett can get his scoring attack anywhere near the same level as his defense, things might turn out OK for America’s Team.

Baltimore is coming off a 9-6 stinker over the Kansas City Chiefs. But if you erase that three field-goal effort from the books, the Ravens offense is putting up more than 30 points per game. That makes the 43.5-point total look shorter than Tom Cruise at a WNBA game.

Even if the Cowboys can’t crack the riddle of the playbook, at least all those points they’re spotting teams off turnovers should make up for what they lack in scoring punch, as far as over/under bettors are concerned. And Baltimore knows a thing or two about capitalizing on turnovers, taking two of its six INTs back to the house.

Here are some of the other odds making football bettors go “hmmm…” heading into the weekend:

Yes, yes. We all know about the infamous 12th man in CenturyLink Field. But as good as Seattle can be at home, the Patriots are much better than their 3-2 record suggests.

New England’s losses have come on last-second plays – missed FG/made FG – and it could easily be in the conversation with Houston and Atlanta right now. The Patriots are a handful on offense, adding a potent running game to Tom Brady’s pin-point passes.

New England has handled crowd noise before – remember when the Colts use to pump in extra noise through the PA system? Brady does.

Maybe oddsmakers thought we’d still be half asleep for this 11 a.m. ET start and wouldn’t notice the wonky spread?

Louisville is ranked 16th in the land and visits a Panthers team that just suffered a 14-13 loss to perhaps the only other Big East team worse than itself. Pitt has been a thorn in UL’s side in recent years, winning four of the past five meetings and going 5-0 ATS in those games.

However, the Cardinals have proved they are a force – not just in the conference – but in the national picture as well. Louisville’s offense suffered a bit of a drop two weeks ago versus Southern Miss, but mainly because they played the game underwater.

The 80-point total doesn’t seem out of reach when you quickly glance at the numbers the Aggies and Bulldogs have posted this season. Both programs sit in the Top 10 in points per game and combine for a total of 97.8 points an outing.

But, Louisiana Tech has built those big digits against some of the worst defensive teams in college football. Three of its five opponents rank 102nd, 104th and 117th in scoring defense. The other two – Illinois and Virginia – sit at No. 80 and No. 96, respectively.

A little known fact about Texas A&M: For all that offensive flash, the Aggies have the 14th-best scoring defense in the nation, allowing just over two touchdowns per game. The new kids on the SEC block nearly took down Florida in Week 1 – the same Florida team many are tagging as a BCS dark horse.

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I agree, a very good informative article for a change (ha, just teasing about the last part :) ... I got the feeling that Baltimore left their A-game at home going up against the Chiefs knowing they had "america's team" this week. Romo prone to mistakes, like most QBs, under duress, that will be the difference ...

The La Tech game scares me. Agreed they have played nobody, but they are home and confident, and extremely well coached. This can be the last team with the ball wins type of game and I think the 8 holds up in another basketball game on grass.

I expect the cowboys to come out and atleast cover the +3.5/+4 if not win outright. Jay Garrett will have the 'boys ready after a bye week. I also like the pats to bury the seahawks who are overdue for an outright ass kicking.

Nice article It was well written and informative.I like getting info on games that myself and most the public wouldn't normally look at i.e .Tex A&M vs La. Tech.
I just played La Tech under 80, Louisville -3 & NE -3.5 -105 I passed on the Dal. over but put a small play on Bal. Tues. as well as making them my pick in one survivor pool. GL.
Keep up the good work and don't worry about those that do nothing but criticize they would whine if you hit 3 out of 4 every week

" Nice article It was well written and informative.I like getting info on games that myself and most the public wouldn't normally look at i.e .Tex A&M vs La. Tech.
I just played La Tech under 80, Louisville -3 & NE -3.5 -105 I passed on the Dal. ove..."

1* Under Rangers/Jets (8:05 ET): I anticipate that the linesmakers could drop this number to an even 5.0 goal total, so perhaps you may want to bet this one Under quickly. You might be surprised at this because the Rangers have gone Over in five straight games while the Jets have gone Over in three straight. But tonight should be a different story.

The Rangers allowed three goals in the third period in Sunday's loss to the Capitals, which shouldn't happen again, regardless if it's Henrik Lundqvist or Cam Talbot in net. I think what's happened the last few games is a post playoff-clinch "hangover." Tonight, on the road, the team should be more focused. New York is 11-6 Under this season on the road when the total is 5.5.

As for the Jets, they'd allowed two goals or fewer in six of seven games prior to Sunday's 4-3 loss to Chicago (I had Over there). Goaltender Ondrej Pavelec had a 1.15 GAA his previous six starts before taking that loss. Lay the juice to get the 5.5 for this one. 1* Under Rangers/Jets

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